Sorta Kinda Kidnapped
by VeganVampy
Summary: There's been a kidnapping... sort of. Now, Chimoku is trying to fit in with her sort of kidnappers as she lives in their base... but there are a few minor obstacles in the way.
1. My Buddies The Kidnappers

_**Hey guys, so I was just reading through this again and I realized... that the mix of repetitiveness and bad grammar is kinda gross. So I'm editing and reposting the chapters. Please be patient with me. :) It shouldn't take long, and once I'm done I'm gonna try and work on chapter five. Thanks for staying with me!**_

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><p>I lay in the dark on my bed, lost in my thoughts, the Evanescence pounding in my eardrums completely ignored. Eventually, I took the headphones out, wanting to be able to hear my surroundings, turned my phone off. I was certain there was something there, someone watching me, but at the same time certain there was not.<p>

My eyes continuously scanned my room, and after a while I got stiff. I carefully got out of my bed, my feet soundlessly touching the tile floor. I stepped over the obstacles on the floor and made my way to the living room, where I lay down on our three-person couch, curling my knees up close to me and taking a blanket from the recliner. It was one in the morning. I couldn't sleep. I had been laying in my bed for about three hours before leaving my room.

I wore simple clothes, a plain gray shirt and black pants resembling sweats. I almost never wore anything fancy. My name is Chimoku Hebana, meaning 'silence' and 'peaceful'. My parents slept in their bedroom down the hall. Our house was average-sized, very cozy. My sister, Kiato, lay sprawled out on her twin-sized bed. I pulled her covers up and went back to the living room.

After a while, giving up on going back to sleep, I changed into a fresh t-shirt and pulled on a jacket, quietly exiting the house to get a coke from the garage, flashlight in hand. I didn't actually need it, but it worked as a weapon of self-defense, being several inches long and made of metal. I treaded quietly down the driveway, crawling under the partly-open garage door.

After I had grabbed my coke from the fridge, I began kneeling down to crawl back out, when I heard whispering. Being the paranoid freak I am, I climbed the ladder to the upper floor of the garage, which was really just a storage space. The upper floor still had no sides, so I could look outside hopefully without being seen. I gripped the support beams tightly, carefully hooking my foot between them so I could lean out to see. In case you were wondering, I was kind of afraid of heights. Not bad, I just had to be holding on to something whenever I was up high.

I scanned the area around me, trying to find the source of the noise. After about five minutes, I sighed, unhooking my foot and beginning to turn around. My phone vibrated with a text, and I picked it up to see a message from my insomniac friend, Konachi.

_I feel like I'm being stalked. I swear I heard people talking when I went to get my machete from the storehouse, but I couldn't find anyone. Majorly creepy. _

I began typing a reply.

_I know exactly what you mean. Tell you about it later. I'm on the second floor of my garage. Good luck with your side. Keep your machete at hand. :)_

I hit send and put my phone away, leaning out of the garage one last time to look around. I was leaning all the way out, supported mostly by the foot that was still lodged in the wood. Then, the problem arose.

The support beam snapped.

A small yelp escaped my lips as I began tumbling down towards the ground. Out of the corner of my vision, I saw something move. I collided with something. My eyes were closed, waiting for the pain, but it didn't come. Instead, a voice asked, "Are you alright?" I opened my eyes to see a dark figure holding me in his arms. He watched my face carefully, waiting for an answer. I stared at his face. After a few moments of silence, I asked, "Um... could you put me down?"

The man smiled. "No. I believe your ankle is broken."

I raised my head to inspect my foot and snorted. "Put me down. It's not broken."

The man looked uncertain, but laid me gently on the ground. I reached down and slowly pulled my ankle back into it's natural position. The joint made a loud_ pop _as it moved back into place. I circled it around a couple of times, then stood up and faced the man.

"Thank you. For saving me. I owe you big time. I would invite you into the house, but considering it's one in the morning my parents would probably kill me if I did that. Is there anything I can do to pay you back?"

He looked down at me and said, in a dead serious voice, "You can come quietly and without a struggle."

I blinked, then grinned. "You sounded like some kind of kidnapper on Criminal Minds. Nice. I like it." I glanced around me. "What are you doing walking around here at this hour anyways? I've never seen you here before."

The man stepped closer to me. "I wasn't joking. You will come with me, whether it be willingly or forcefully."

I stared at him for a minute, then shrugged. "Whatever. Just let me pack some stuff to bring with me." I turned and started towards my front door. A hand on my arm stopped me.

"If you wake the members of your house or alert anyone that I am here, I will have no choice but to dispose of them."

I shook the man's hand off. "Wasn't planning on it. I'm not stupid." I came out of the house ten minutes later with a duffel bag full of clothes and a lunchbox, in which I had a little food and a couple of cokes. I slung both over my shoulder and stopped in front of the man.

"Where are we going?"

He didn't respond, only motioning for me to follow him. After a few minutes of walking, another man joined us, taller than the first. I looked at him curiously. "Friend of yours?"

The first man nodded, while the second grinned at me.

"You actually cooperated? What a weird kid." His voice was deep and raspy.

I shrugged. "Something new. Plus, I'm not much of a fighter and I don't really feel like getting beat up." After a few more minutes of walking in silence, I randomly questioned, "Do either of you know how to sword fight?"

The taller man grinned at me. "One of the best, little lady. You interested in trying your hand in a fight?"

"No. I don't know how to sword fight, and I'm not an idiot. I was asking because I've been dying to learn how. You know, in case someone decides to be a stupid jerk-face and attack me. I've been wanting to learn hand-to-hand combat as well." I smiled as a scene of me beating the crap out of a guy who had tried to kidnap my sister ran through my mind.

"You're asking the 'jerk-faces' that just kidnapped you to teach you to defend yourself? How does that work?" Tall man interrupted my thoughts.

My eyes flicked to his confused face. "You guys are not jerk-faces. You didn't just randomly attack me, you're being nice to me, and your friend possibly saved my life earlier. Make sense now?" I asked as if I had just explained this to a kindergartener. "I am curious though, why are you kidnapping me?"

"Because we were ordered to. And that fall wouldn't have killed you," the first man answered.

"Oh. Why? And it could have if I had landed wrong." A scene in which my body lay bent at awkward angles on the ground flickered to life behind my eyes.

The first man shrugged. I took that to mean he didn't know why. After a few more minutes of walking, I questioned, "So, what are your guises names?"

The first man answered my question. "I am Itachi, and that is Kisame. What is your name?"

"Chimoku Hebana. What are your last names?" I received no response. I shrugged it off. After a while, we entered a forest, following a discreet trail. I studied all the small side trails we passed, always having loved hiking and seeing paths very few other people saw. Some were not even passable, but I still considered them paths. Itachi watched me closely, and Kisame walked ahead of both of us, leading the way.

"What are you looking at?" Itachi questioned after several minutes of trekking through the forest.

My head snapped up as I was abruptly yanked out of my thoughts. Random scenarios had been playing themselves through my brain, and I had been only slightly aware of the real world as I continued to subconsciously note the side trails.

"Nothing. Just looking around. It would be fun to go hiking around here sometime," I responded absently.

"If you try to create a mental map and find your way out, you will end up dying. There are all kinds of wild animals out here," he told me bluntly. I snorted.

"My brain is too much of a jumbled mess for that type of detail. I have no sense of direction anyways. It's hard enough to concentrate on one single thought without having to worry about where I'm walking." Once again, no response. Silence ensued once again, as did Itachi's staring. It was really creepy.

"Itachi, I swear if you are trying to read my mind I'm going to kill you." My random comment confused both Itachi and Kisame, who had been listening to the conversation.

"Why would I be trying to read your mind?" Itachi asked, bewildered.

"Why am I walking with you through a forest?" I shot back. Itachi shrugged.

"Fair enough."

I grinned in victory. The awesome power of randomness! MWAHAHAHAHA!

"Hey, am I the only one you guys kidnapped?" I asked curiously.

"Us specifically, yes. Our organization, no."

"Who else did your organization kidnap?" For the third time, I received no response. This is getting old. After several more minutes of hiking, we made it to a large rock face with a sensor on it. Itachi held something up to it, and a door opened, revealing a staircase. I grinned hugely.

"I love stairs," I informed my fellow travelers. They both gave me weird looks. My grin widened in victory. YOSH! I GOT WEIRD LOOKS FROM PEOPLE! MY LIFE IS COMPLETE! I began running down the stairs, making sure to step on every one of them. When I reached the bottom, I froze. There were lots of people I didn't know here, and most of them were staring at me. A blonde headed man spoke up.

"Who are you and how did you get in here?"

I remained silent, simply staring at the crowd, waiting for Itachi and Kisame to catch up to me. I had the urge to shrink back, run away, hide, _something_, to get away from their stares. That's another minor phobia of mine. I hate being stared at. All of the people in the room watched me suspiciously. When I stuck my hands in my jacket pockets to keep from fidgeting with them, several knives came flying at me. I yelped and hit the deck, narrowly dodging the missiles.

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?" I screamed at the crowd, glaring with all my might. Someone laughed.

"Is that supposed to scare us?" a silver haired man asked.

"Don't make fun of my pathetic glare." I mumbled. I stood back up and began to stick my hands back in my pockets, but a red headed man grabbed my arms and pinned them to my sides.

"What do you have in your pockets?" he asked menacingly.

"Nothing. They're empty. Now let go."

Just then, Itachi and Kisame entered the room.

"Took you long enough!" I exclaimed, exasperated.

"Would you like to explain what is going on?" the red head asked Itachi.

"This is Chimoku Hebana, the girl we were sent to capture," Itachi answered in a monotone.

Everyone in the room except Kisame and Itachi stared at me with a new interest.

"This little brat? She barely dodged our kunai. There's no way Leader-sama would send you to capture a little weakling like her," the red head stated.

Itachi turned to me. "I thought you said you didn't know any hand-to-hand combat."

I turned an indignant look on him. "I never said that. I took a little taekwondo when I was younger. But honestly... I forgot just about everything I learned there. I just hit the deck," I finished, sounding disgruntled.

"Why did you keep reaching into your pockets then, un?" Blondie questioned.

"Nervous habit," I answered bluntly.

Itachi regained my attention. "Well, now that you've been introduced, welcome to the Akatsuki headquarters, Chimoku."

Blondie spoke up again. "Wait, why are you all being so friendly? I mean, aren't you our prisoner? We kidnapped you."

I shrugged, Itachi had a hint of a smile on his face, and Kisame full out grinned. Kisame was the one who answered.

"She came willingly. There was no fight. Actually, according to her, Itachi saved her life."

Everyone except the afore mentioned three gave me questioning looks. I smiled.

"So, where exactly will I be staying?"


	2. The Base

_**Hey y'all! Chapter two of editing complete! I'm also C&Ping the old author's note, so please don't comment on how its outdated. :) Thanks!**_

**Chappie two! I know it's been a while since I posted chapter one, but no one was reading it and I just today got inspiration for another chapter. So sorry for the few that did. Anyways, the character's personality may have changed because she's based off of me and I've changed a bit since I wrote chapter one. Hope you like.**

**Disclaimer: I only own Chimoku and my crazyness. Nothing else. :)**

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><p>"<em>So, where exactly will I be staying?"<em>

I looked around, waiting for an answer. After a few minutes, I wiggled my arms and the redhead let go of me.

"Thank you," I told him, rubbing away the marks left on my skin.

"I wasn't holding your arms that tightly," he stated, looking for a threat in my prescence.

"No, you weren't," I replied. "For some strange reason my skin marks easily. It's annoying." I huffed at the end of my sentence, earning another round of weird looks from all. YESH.

So, all was well and good until, guess what? It got dark.

"Uh... I think the power's out..." I said uncertainly. Someone laughed.

"No it's not, un."

"Then why is it dark...?" I wondered to myself, reaching up to rub my eyes. My fingers hit cloth. It took me a minute to process this before curiously questioning, "Why am I blindfolded?"

Several people chuckled. I frowned.

"Seriously, what did I do?" I pouted when no one answered me. "You know, this is getting really old."

"What is?" a voice I recognized as Kisame asked.

"Not being answered. See, Kisame is nice." The blindfold pulled tighter. "Ow!" I yelped.

"Just making sure you can't see." Itachi's voice told me. I pulled at the blindfold. It was already giving me a headache.

"I couldn't see before. But I can still hear," I muttered. "Ouch!" I muted my voice, hoping no one heard.

"What now?" a monotone questioned boredly.

"Nothing..." I said under my breath. I felt suspicious stares on me and shifted uncomfortably. "Please stop staring at me," I whispered. My arms were pulled behind my back, my wrists tied, and I felt a second blindfold cover the first. I whimpered quietly.

"I thought you said you couldn't see," Itachi's voice told me, almost harshly.

"I can't..." I winced. "I don't like it when people stare at me and I don't have to see them to know they're doing it."

I clenched my teeth as a migraine headache hit me. I flinched backwards when cool hands touched my jaw.

"Why are you so tense all of a sudden?" Itachi's soothing voice questioned. I tried to pull my arms up to swat his hands away but remembered they were tied.

"I don't like being touched," I responded. I could tell by the sound of the silence that he didn't believe me.

"You didn't seem to mind when I caught you," he stated. Darn it.

"That was a different situation," I cursed myself mentally. I had responded too quickly.

"Why would you come without a fight then lie to us?" an almost distracted sounding voice asked.

I turned my face away, dislodging Itachi's fingers in the process.

"I take it I still have to be questioned then?" My voice held just the slightest touch of bitterness.

"Why would we question you? We already know all we need to about you," Kisame returned.

"I … don't … know …" I felt really stupid now. "So you've been watching me for how long?"

"You don't need to know that," Itachi told me.

"Whatever."

I felt a hand on my arm before someone started pulling me in a new direction. I stumbled and ended up kind of spinning before ending up with my face about an inch from the floor, supported by the hand from before. I stood with difficulty, pulling my arm free before actually crashing into the floor. I felt everyone's stares on me again.

"You know, one of you could be helpful and untie my hands so I can walk instead of staring at me," I stated annoyedly.

"Untie your hands so you can walk? How does that work?" a ridiculing voice sneered. I growled.

"I use my hands when walking even when I'm not blindfolded. It helps me keep my balance and not run into things. In case that wasn't obvious enough."

I could feel the surprise in the room. I bet they think I'm bipolar now... sigh. I jumped as a pair of hands untied my wrists before helping me up.

"Thank you," I said quietly, reaching out and pressing my hand against a wall. I felt my way forward until a pair of hands on my shoulders turned me around and steered me in a different direction.

"It's this way," Itachi's calm voice informed me.

"... oh …"

He placed my hand on the wall and led me forward by my other wrist. I felt and heard a few others following behind, but didn't really pay attention to them as their first impression wasn't exactly spectacular.

"Where are we going?" I asked aloud after a few minutes of walking.

"You'll see when we get there," Kisame's voice teased from behind. I frowned.

"I'm not a patient person. Especially when I can't see."

A sigh was heard, and then Itachi stopped moving, making me almost bump into him. I heard the click of a door unlatching before I was pushed forward into another room. The blindfold was removed and I rubbed my eyes and temples.

"Hello, Chimoku," a baritone voice in front of me said. His voice held authority, but had the slightest undertone of arrogance to it.

"Hi!" I chirped, trying to hide the fact that I still couldn't see. Apparently I failed, because the voice (I consider it a man at this point) chuckled.

"Have a seat and stop pretending," he ordered, covering the laughter in his voice. I held my hand out in front of me hoping to find a seat, but ended up stumbling. Once I caught my balance, my vision unfuzzed and the white spots dissappeared. I sat down in the nearby chair and studied the man facing me. He had orange hair, _tons_ of peircings, and a stormy purple pair of ringed eyes.

"Why am I here?" I questioned, my voice barely audible. Curse it all.

"Because you have abilities that we need," he responded in a monotone. I scoffed.

"Yeah right. I'm a useless teenage girl."

"Hm," he said with a slight hint of amusement. "It seems you aren't aware of your abilities. Or you're just so used to them you don't notice them anymore. This will be interesting."

"What?" I asked sharply, immediately tense. I heard an almost indistinguishable chuckle from the corner of the room. My head snapped over to look for the sound.

"What is it?" the man in front of me asked.

"Nothing …" I muttered. "Thought I heard something."

The man looked at me suspiciously.

"You thought?"

"... yeah... is there a problem?" I searched my words for something that could present a threat but found none. I heard a slight scuff in the corner where the chuckle had come from. "Do you have rats or something?"

Orange head stood up and walked over to me.

"How can you hear that?" he asked/threatened.

I leaned back, my eyes involuntarily widening. I quickly controlled the reaction. Spacing out now would _not_ be a good thing. "You hear it too then? I thought I was going insane..."

The man slapped me across the face. "Stop acting stupid. Lying to me is not in your best interest."

"_**I wasn't lying**_," I ground out between clenched teeth. "If you think I'm acting stupid now, then you'll think that for the rest of the time you know me."

This seemed to surprise the man. He stepped back, giving me some breathing room, and studied me carefully. My fists were clenched and I had gritted my teeth, glaring at the man in front of me. The red handprint was displayed clearly across my face. He reached down and touched it, watching my face for a reaction. None was shown.

"I did not hit you hard enough to make a mark that deep."

"No, you didn't. As I've already told everyone else, my skin marks easily. As you can see it doesn't hurt." As an afterthought, I muttered, "And of course everything I tell you about myself will end up proving wrong..."

"What does that mean? I thought you said you were telling the truth."

He was basically threatening me every time I said something. This was getting old fast.

"It means everything I say ends up not being true even if it was true when I said it! Yeesh!" He stared at me for a minute, analyzing my words. After a few moments of silence, I said, "You know, maybe because I said that it will end up proving wrong and I won't feel like such a liar all the time anymore."

The man stepped away from me, going to sit back down at his desk.

"You may leave," he told me.

I turned and walked out of the room and slid down against the wall, waiting for a sudden wave of dizziness to pass. I heard footsteps but didn't register the fact that they were coming towards me, so I nearly jumped out of my skin when a hand touched my shoulder.

"What's wrong kiddo?" Kisame asked me.

I shook my head.

"Nothing."

I stood up... and nearly fell back down. I caught myself on the wall and waited for my vision to clear up.

"That's not nothing," Kisame stated.

"It is, actually. I'm perfectly fine. That happens a lot."

He watched me skeptically, but I ignored it. "By the way, where am I supposed to go?"

Kisame shrugged. "Got me."

I sighed. "I guess I'll go find someone who can tell me what to do."

I left Kisame there and started wandering the halls, eventually bumping into Itachi.

"Hey," I greeted him. He looked around.

"What are you doing wandering the halls alone?" he asked in an overprotective tone. Oh boy.

"Looking for someone who can tell me where I'm supposed to go," I responded.

He seemed to think for a moment, then said, "We have a spare room. I can show you where it is. It is not very big, but it has a bed."

I nodded.

"Thank you."

As a feeling of apprehension took over, a late effect of the staring from earlier, a new image flickered to life behind my eyes. I suppressed a shudder. In the image, I lay in a bloody heap on the ground in the center of the group of people, and they were all laughing at me. The silver-haired one jabbed what I recognized as a kunai into my hand, drawing an ear piercing scream from my lips. I shook my head slightly to clear the image, making sure to keep a straight face. That would _not _happen.

A few moments later, we arrived at a door. Itachi opened the door and motioned me inside, closing it again once he had stepped inside as well. It was a quaint little room, with a simple bed, a small dresser, and a bedside table and lamp. My duffel bag and lunchbox were sitting on the floor by the door.

"You planned this ahead of time, didn't you?" I asked Itachi.

He smiled slightly.

"Possibly."

I shook my head. "Well, thank you. I was wondering where all my stuff went." Itachi nodded. I sat down on the bed and crossed my legs. Itachi sat down next to me. My eyes began to close, and I leaned to the side slightly. I heard Itachi chuckle quietly before he pushed me down on the bed and threw the covers over me.

"Night..." I mumbled sleepily.

"Sleep well," he told me from the door. And I did. At least... for a while.


	3. Nightmares and Hiking

**_Chapter three editing - complete! I didn't edit the nightmare, because as said in the original disclaimer(which I'm C&Ping into here) I actually had it, and the details aren't as clear now as they were when I first had it. :) Also, as I read in my old A/N, I forgot to spell-check all of these edits... so if any of you editors out there see anything, please point it out to me so I can fix it. Again. ^.^;_**

_**_Disclaimer: I only own Chimoku and my nightmare (which I actually had and woke up from in the same state as Chimoku)._**_

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><p><em>A little girl played in a dimly lit hall by herself, keeping close watch over her beloved doll. The sounds of a dinner party hosted by her parents came from the next room over, as well as the faint light that filled the area. She slid down a short staircase rail, then climbed back up again. She repeated this process over and over, starting at the frost covered window and ending just before the door. A figure watched her from outside, its eyes never leaving the little girl. Once, when the girl was about to start her slide again, she fell, crashing through the window. She rolled down the snowy hill, doll clutched between her little arms. She came to rest in a snowdrift. Her small wooden house sat at the top of the hill, unreachable from her position. Then noises of battle came to her ears and she looked over the snowdrift. Before her was a war. Toys, machines, people, all were mixed together in the violent battle. She watched in horror. Now, the image was altered. The two sweet little girls that lived in my neigborhood sat before me, where I was now included in the scene. My sister was there too, and when one of the girls ran onto the field upon seeing a toy she had longed for, my sister followed her. I chased after the two of them, my only thought to bring them back to safety. Just before I could get to them, the image altered again, and the four of us were at the top of a icy mountain. The battle could still be seen in the distance, but it was no longer heard. A toy resembling Joker stood in front of me, smiling like it was all a game. He made it clear to me, somehow without words, that in order to save the two little girls, I had to bury my sister alive in the ice. Desparation took over, and tears blurred my vision. The image altered again, but only in the sense that my sister was now already covered in solid ice up to her waist. She told me to do it, save the little girls. With tears streaming down my face, I brushed ice over the rest of her body. It solidified as it moved into place. I promised to come back up and get her as soon as the girls were safe, and she just smiled at me. She took a deep breath and I brushed the ice over her face. It remained crumbled this time, but she still would not be able to breath. Her skin began paling-<em>

I lurched out of the nightmare with tears filling my eyes, and began rocking back and forth on the bed, squeezing a pillow tightly in my arms. A few tears slipped down my face, but I took a deep breath, reminding myself that it wasn't real. My main comfort was that she was still alive when the nightmare ended.

I curled up into a ball and lay there for a while, trying to push the feelings from the dream away. I heard footsteps outside and prayed that they wouldn't enter the room. A knock was heard on the door. I didn't answer, hoping they would leave me alone. They didn't. Itachi entered the room, obviously expecting to find me still asleep. When he saw my position and wet eyes, he sat down next to me and pulled me into a hug.

"What's wrong?" he asked me gently. I shook my head.

"It's n-nothing." I cursed my voice for failing me again.

"Tell me," he ordered in almost a warning voice. I bit my lip as a surge of tears hit me to hold it in and shook my head again, eyes tightly closed. He sighed and spoke in a softer voice.

"Chimoku, it might help you feel better if you talk to someone about it. Please tell me."

"I-It was j-just a n-nightmare," I whispered, as much to myself as Itachi. "Not real..."

He hugged me tighter. "Why don't you tell me about it?" he suggested. I shook my head.

"It'll clarify the details if I have to explain it..." My voice was just above a whisper this time. I took a deep breath and tried to smile.

"So what did you originally come in here for?" I knew my voice sounded fake, but there was nothing I could do about that. Itachi studied my face for a moment before standing.

"I came to wake you for breakfast," he answered. I stood up and grabbed the end of his sleeve.

"Lead the way."

We exited my room and walked down several hallways before reaching what I assume was the kitchen/dining area. Everyone from the day before was there, and they all stopped what they were doing to stare at me. I forced myself to ignore it. I followed Itachi's example and picked up a piece of toast and a glass of milk and sat down next to him, letting go of his sleeve and curling up into a ball on the seat. Eventually everyone went back to what they had been doing and left me alone, with the exception of Itachi who continued eating next to me. After he was done, he looked over at me and my untouched food.

"Are you not hungry?" he questioned.

I shrugged.

"You really should eat," he tried again.

I picked up my toast and took a bite before lowering my hand again. He sighed.

"All of it."

I scowled and finished what I had picked up for breakfast. Itachi stood up and I jumped off my chair to follow him, not wanting to be left with the others. Unfortunately, he told me he was going to a private meeting and I couldn't come, so I was left with the rest of the organization. I sat in silence for a while, trying not to stare at anybody. Eventually, someone spoke to me.

"Is there a problem? You haven't moved in over ten minutes." The bored looking redhead was the one who had spoken to me.

"No. Neither have you." My voice sounded like that of a shy five year old. It was pathetic.

The man... boy... teen... I don't know, chuckled.

"Point taken. You don't have a reason for being abnormally still though."

"What's your reason then?"

He smirked... sort of... and responded, "I'll be keeping that to myself. You'll find out in due time."

I frowned, but didn't argue. I wasn't in the mood right now. My head was still all fuzzy and I tend to be way oversensitive when I'm not functioning like normal. After a while more of sitting in silence, I quietly got up and started to leave the room. Everyone turned to stare at me.

"Where ya going kiddo?" Fishy asked me. I pointed to the hallway. He shrugged. "You won't find any way out through there. Even if you did somehow manage to get away, we'd catch you."

I glared at him.

"I'm not stupid enough to try."

Everyone stared at me in slight surprise, as I had spoken harshly and very audibly. I turned around and left the room, carefully controlling the amount of force I used. I ran back to my borrowed room, punching the bed and pillows to replace the calming effect the cold outside air that usually brought me back to a stable condition when I was upset.

Not that being kidnapped and left with a bunch of strangers is anything to be stressed about.

Once I had vented on the bed, I flopped down on it and just lay there limply for about thirty minutes. I think. I heard a knock on the door and came slowly out of my daydreams.

"May I come in?"

I turned towards the door and willed it to open without my saying anything. I heard a sigh, and the person who I knew to be Itachi opened the door anyways. I smiled. I guess I was right about him being able to read minds.

He sat down on the bed next to me and began playing with my hair, seeming to have a topic he didn't want to bring up on his mind. I just stared silently.

Finally, he looked down at me and asked, "Why did you suddenly become so silent and shy?"

I kind of shrugged. He gave me this look, like 'if you don't tell me I'm going to use the more difficult method instead', which I figured meant getting that scary leader guy to talk to me.

I watched the hand he was twirling my hair with, responding, "Your friends didn't exactly make a great first impression. I don't like to be around a lot of people either. Not to mention the staring..." I finally forced my eyes back up to his face. He was frowning slightly.

"You were perfectly fine with Kisame and I..."

"That's only two people, you were both being nice, and you didn't throw sharp pointy objects at me or glare at me," I told him with a half pout.

Itachi switched to playing with my fingers, seeming to be thinking about something.

"You are just going to have to adjust. You can't avoid everyone for long."

I sighed. "I know, but it's not going to be overnight. The nightmare didn't exactly help either. I'm still not thinking straight. I need some fresh air, but I guess I'm not allowed outside."

Itachi seemed to be considering something. He closed his fingers around my hand and pulled me off the bed.

"Let go... I dun wanna get up..." I whined childishly. Itachi simply rolled his eyes and kept dragging me.

After a while, we reached the scary leader's office. I glared at the door.

"I'm not going in there again."

Itachi sighed, saying, "You have to if you want an opportunity to go outside."

My eyes brightened a little. I looked at the door semi-warily, asking, "Is he going to be all hostile again?" I honestly didn't know whether I'd risk it to take a walk in the forest. I might.

"Unless he is busy, he will not act hostile towards you," Itachi responded.

"What about you?"

"He is rarely hostile towards me. Do not worry."

I gave Itachi a suspicious look, before nodding my consent. Before we knocked, I whispered, "Thank you. You didn't have to do this for me."

He gave a small smile, then rapped his hand against the door.

Scary man's deep voice gave a short command of, "Enter."

We stepped inside and I started twisting my fingers together, wishing I still had my jacket on since I didn't have pockets in my pants.

"What do you want?" scary man asked us.

"I would like to make a request, Leader-sama," Itachi told him.

"What is it?"

"I would like permission to take Chimoku outside in the forest. I will stay with her at all times during this time, so there is no chance that she would escape."

The leader dude's ringed eyes flickered to me. "Why?"

Itachi nudged my arm. I stepped forward timidly, saying, "Fresh air is like a coping mechanism for me. It helps me calm down." I thought about continuing, then decided it wasn't important.

The man seemed to consider for a moment, then waved his hand, saying, "Do as you deem necessary with the girl. I'll give you command over her."

Itachi nodded, responding, "Thank you, Leader-sama." He then turned and left, and I followed close behind. Once the door had closed, I gave him a huge hug.

"Thank you so so much Itachi."

He patted my head. "It's no trouble."

I smiled. Then I realized a slight dilema. "Uh... I don't know how to get outside."

"You will not learn either. I will have to blindfold you."

I turned to him with a hurt expression. "You don't trust me? The scary guy never gave you those orders."

Itachi seemed to be amused by my name for 'Leader-sama', but responded seriously. "It is not that I don't trust you, I can't have you getting distracted and wandering outside. There really are dangerous things out there that _will_ injure or kill you."

"You sound like my father."

Itachi gave a slight shrug. He pulled a piece of cloth out of one of the pockets on his long black cloak. I sighed and stopped walking, closing my eyes as the blindfold covered my face. I held out my hand and Itachi led me down the halls until we reached the staircase that was the first part of the building I had ever seen, and I took my blindfold off. We climbed it, then Itachi opened the door, letting in a burst of cold air. My mind immediately cleared up, my eyes sharpening.

I felt Itachi's eyes on me, and I turned to smile happily at him. "Can we go for a walk?"

"Of course. You _are_ under my jurisdiction now."

"Which is why I asked you."

He shook his head and began walking. I ran to catch up with him. We walked for a while on the main trail, before I saw an interesting looking side trail.

"Can we go on that trail?" I questioned, pointing to where I was talking about.

Itachi looked at where I was pointing, telling me, "That is not a trail."

"It's passable."

"That does not mean it's a trail."

"So? Can we still go on it?"

Itachi sighed, before motioning for me to lead the way.

"Yay!" I exclaimed, darting for the path. I brushed branches out of the way, making my way along what appeared to me as an obvious trail.

"How exactly does this look like a trail to you?" Itachi asked, shoving thorns and twigs out of his way. I shrugged.

"It just did. We should probably go back to the main trail. You said there are things out here, and I've got a bad feeling."

Itachi glanced around, nodding. The main trail was soon under our feet, and we began moving back towards the building dealy. Once there, I climbed on top of the rock that was also an entrance and stared at the sky for a while, letting the quiet of nature calm my mind and nerves. I nearly jumped out of my skin when a shadow passed over my face, but it was just a bird.

"We've been out long enough. Come down." Itachi ordered.

I slid off the rock and started hopping up and down at the jarring of my foot. "Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!"

Itachi rolled his eyes and opened the rock door, and we entered the base once again. The process of me being blindfolded was repeated, and I ended up falling forward onto the bed in my borrowed room. I pulled the blindfold off again, sending one of my signature pitiful glares at Itachi. He chuckled.

"You should really work on that. It is... amusing, but it won't help you at all in a hostile situation."

I sighed, responding, "I know..."

He sat down on the bed next to me. "You gained the opportunity to go outside. I would think it would be worth being blindfolded."

"Yeah... I would just prefer not faceplanting while blindfolded. Call me crazy."

Itachi chuckled. "Of course. That makes perfect sense."

I grumbled incoprehensibly. Itachi patted my head.

My eyes started watering as I suppressed a yawn, but it eventually broke through my lips. I swear I heard Itachi chuckle, but he didn't look amused. He actually looked tired too... wow I'm slow to notice things. He has freaking lines on his face.

Anyways.

He flicked my forehead, standing from the bed. "Get some rest. I'll wake you in the morning."

I slapped his hand lightly. "I'm not tired."

"You just yawned."

"So?"

"... just go to sleep."

"Grrr... fine."

I climbed to the top of the bed and sat down by the pillows. Itachi just stared at me.

"What?"

"That's not sleeping."

"That's because you're still here."

Itachi rolled his eyes before bidding me goodnight and walking out of my borrowed room.

I smiled as I went over the day's events, leaning back on the pillows and pulling the covers tightly around me. My last thought was of the warmth of the sunshine on my skin contrasting against the cold air of the beautiful afternoon as I drifted into the sweet, dark abyss of sleep.


	4. Introductions and Girl Time

_**Hi again! This is the edited version of chapter 4! I actually didn't change much on this one, because it was written much more recently and not anywhere near as bad as the others. Now that the editing's done... I'm gonna go do my homework. *walks away* **_

_**JK! I'm gonna try and get something done for the next chapter now. Thanks for reading my lovelies!**_

_**C&P: **_Disclaimer: I only own Chimoku and the plot. Why would I be remaking the series if I had control over the original?_****_

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><p>My eyes opened once again to the blank room I had been staying in for the last few days, but instead of tears flowing down my face this morning, I was completely numb.<p>

I had another nightmare.

More death.

I couldn't do anything...

I stared blankly at the ceiling, having shut myself off due to the overload of stress. My head remained tilted in a set position to the side and my eyes remained fixed on nothing, unfocused and clouded. I had enough clearness of mind to look over at the clock to see the time. It was five in the morning. No one would come in here for a while.

After what seemed like eternity as my thoughts tried to engulf me, my stupor began to lighten and a soft knock sounded on my door. I glanced over at the clock again. Seven AM now.

"Who is it?" I asked in a monotone.

Itachi opened the door and stuck his head in before fully entering.

"You're up early," he commented.

"Yeah."

My eyes never moved from their position fixed on the ceiling as he spoke. I realized I had dazed out while Itachi was talking to me when he waved his hand in front of my face to regain my attention.

"Is something wrong?" he asked with a hint of concern in his voice. I shook my head and ran a hand across my face to wake up before sitting up and getting out of the bed.

"So you're going mute on me today?" Itachi questioned, trying to sound humorous. I shook my head again, but couldn't draw forth a word from my lips.

"Then say something," Itachi challenged, "or I'll have to make you say something."

I gave him a weird look. I wanted to ask, 'What?' but once again, the word was too heavy to issue from my mouth. With a resigned sigh, Itachi stood up and walked over to me. Then, without warning, he began tickling me. Normally, I would have yelped and fallen to the ground yelling 'Stop!' and laughing, but all I did was cave in on myself this time.

Standing up and moving away, I went and sat on the bed. Itachi sat next to me with a deep frown on his face.

"Chimoku, this is worse than yesterday. Tell me what is wrong."

I forced myself to speak. "Nothing. I'm just kind of numbed out."

The words felt wrong coming from my mouth.

"Why are you 'numbed out'?"

I shrugged. "...can we go get breakfast?"

Itachi smiled a little in relief and responded, "Sure."

He pulled me off the bed and led the way down to the breakfast hall again. Everyone else was already eating.

"You're late," the red-headed... I'm calling him a teenager. The red-headed teenager told us as we walked in.

Itachi nodded and I tried to muster an apologetic look. My emotions were starting to work again, and of course, as usual, the first one back in action was sadness. Slowly, my cryptic and analytical nature kicked back in and I focused on that until everything else faded back in.

"Hey, un, what are you looking at?" the blonde-headed guy asked me.

My head snapped to his position and I asked, "What?"

Blondey looked kind of annoyed and weirded out at the same time. "I asked what you were staring at. Didn't you hear me?"

"No," I responded shaking my head slightly, "I just kind of fazed out for a second... it tends to happen a lot when I have things on my mind."

"Hm."

Blondey went back to what he was previously doing. I then realized something that was getting on my nerves.

"I don't know any of your names," I announced to the group. "Its getting on my nerves. Care to share?"

Kisame laughed and said, "Well, you heard the little lady! Everyone introduce yourselves!"

The blonde boy rolled his eyes and said, "Deidara, un."

I nodded and pointed to the red-headed teen. "You?"

"Sasori. Master of puppets."

I frowned. "Please don't put on any shows... puppets kind of scare me."

Deidara began laughing uproariously and exclaimed, "I told you my art is better than yours, Danna!"

I raised an eyebrow at Deidara as Sasori responded, "Your silly little 'art' is no more than a child's toy."

"What's his art?" I questioned.

"Art... is an EXPLOSION!" Deidara exclaimed as he blew up a little bird near the ceiling. I jumped out of my skin, stifling a tiny scream, and leapt away from the blast. Deidara was grinning proudly and triumphantly at his little explosion and didn't seem to notice my reaction. He continued on his little victorious moment until Sasori gained his attention with a smirk, pointing at me.

Deidara's face immediately sunk at what probably appeared to be terror on my face.

"It seems like she doesn't like your art any more than mine," Sasori sneered. I frowned and fazed out for a moment without anyone noticing before coming back to the real world, where Deidara and Sasori were still bickering.

"Can we please continue with the introductions?" I asked in annoyance.

The silver haired man who had been in the room upon my first day here came stomping in, asking, "What the (_hufflepuff)_ is going on in here?"

"That's Hidan," Kisame started.

A man covered in stitches stalked slowly in after Hidan. His face was half-covered by a mask and his eyes were strangely colored, his skin very leathery from over-exposure to the Sun.

"And that's Kakuzu," Kisame finished.

I waved at the two and both of them just glared at me. So... they weren't people I was gonna get along with.

"TOBI SAYS HI TO GIRL-CHAN!"

A flying ball of black and orange flew at me and I was tackled to the ground. I yelped and immediately started trying to shove the thing off, kicking and writhing as I pushed. The orange-masked thing rolled off of me and assumed a hurt posture. I scrambled away quickly and stood up.

"Don't. Touch. Me."

The orange mask nodded forlornly, then re-assumed its extreme hyper-activity and started bouncing up and down.

"Tobi is Tobi and Tobi says hi to girl-chan and Tobi wants girl-chan to be Tobi's friend and-"

"That's enough Tobi," a venus fly-trap said, rising up out of the ground. Wait... venus fly-trap? What in the world? The venus fly-trap opened to reveal a man that was half-black and half-white, split straight down the middle.

"We're Zetsu," the white half said.

"**This is our apprentice, Tobi," **the black half said.

"We're training him to become a member of the Akatsuki," the white half added.

"**As annoying as he is..." **the black half muttered.

"He's not that bad. Stop being so mean."

"**Yes he is. He acts like a five-year-old.**"

"Um... hi," I said uncertainly. "So... you're both Zetsu?"

"Yes," the white half responded kindly. "We share this body."

"**Unfortunately.**"

"Stop being so mean."

I interrupted again with, "So, is this everyone here other than the scary leader guy?"

"Including the scary leader guy, and no," a voice informed me from behind. I spun around to see the scary leader guy standing behind me, in all his orange-haired many-piercings glory, with a girl. I looked around and the realization that until this new girl had come in, I had been the only girl in the room.

"I'm Konan," said girl told me with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Chimoku."

I glanced around at the mass of people now surrounding me and watching each of my encounters and kind of shrunk into myself.

Ignoring my obvious discomfort, the orange-haired leader guy said, "You will address me as Leader-sama or Leader."

I made a face and mouthed the words before muttering, "That feels so weird..."

The leader guy gave me a disbelieving look and everyone else seemed amused.

"Can- may I please call you something else? That name feels really unnatural and... awkward."

"... you may call me Pein-sama. That's all."

I smiled largely. "Got it." I glanced over at the girl named Konan and then at the room full of men before walking over to her and asking quietly, "Are you the only girl here?" She nodded.

I looked around the room one more time, building up my courage, before announcing, "I'm going to steal Konan and we're going to go be girls for a while. Anyone who follows us dies."

After my little speech, I quickly grabbed Konan's arm and ran out of the room before my courage could fail me. Konan laughed and waved as we ran. Pein looked- I mean, Pein-_sama_ looked annoyed. Itachi and Kisame looked very amused.

After we were out of hearing distance of the guys, I looked around in confusion and asked, "...where are we?"

Konan laughed and said, "Follow me and we'll go to the living area. Tired of all the boys already?"

Walking beside her, I answered, "Actually, I didn't even realize I was the only girl there until I saw you..."

She laughed even more. She had the prettiest little laugh – sweet but still strong and confident. I wished I could sound that confident...

When we finally got to what I assumed was the living area, I saw...

a huge mess and a lot of dangerous looking weapons.

I'm beginning to question the safety of going anywhere in this base without Konan or Itachi...


	5. Konachi

_**Chapter five! I actually spell-checked this one. Aren't you proud of me? :D So, since I promised you another chapter today, here it is! Enter... Konachi!**_

_**I don't feel like doing a disclaimer. I'm just gonna put a generalized one on my profile in a little while.**_

_**Hope you like! Tell me if it was worth the wait by... wait for it... reviewing! :D**_

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><p>Looking around at the destruction, I found the culprit lying underneath a huge pile of assorted weapons and cursing loudly. It took me a moment to register the situation before screaming, "Konachi!" and running to pull the weapons off my friend.<p>

"Chimoku! What are you doing here?" she yelled protectively at me, slapping my head. I swatted her hands away and pulled her out of what little remained of the pile, hugging her tightly.

"I was about to ask you the same question. Are you hurt?" I responded, looking for any wounds from the massive pile of sharp objects.

"No," she said, preparing to change the subject.

"Before you go all off in a rant at me about being out of my house at one in the morning and getting myself kidnapped, which is entirely hypocritical, you better wash those cuts before you go to sleep tonight," I told her, looking at the small cuts and scrapes she had obtained.

"Whatever. But seriously, at _one in the morning_? What were you thinking? You don't even have the excuse of being an insomniac, and you're afraid of heights! What were you doing on the second floor of your garage? Especially while your parents are still rebuilding and there's no sides!"

I listened to her rant for a few more minutes, going completely off topic a few times, then when she was done, I said, "Feel better?"

She nodded.

"Good. Now, let's go to my bedroom and sort this out."

"Your _bedroom_? I thought you were kidnapped! Do you know who these people are?"

I shook my head and said, "I'll explain in a little bit. Konan, can you take us back to the kitchen? I know where to go from there."

"Sure," she said, gesturing for us to follow her. Konachi gave me a weird look before grudgingly following, being very dramatic about the whole 'my best friend is keeping secrets from me' thing. I tried not to laugh, but in all honesty, I was laughing under my breath the entire walk.

When we entered the kitchen, Deidara and Sasori both turned and gave Konachi a suspicious look. I looked between the three of them and said, "So I assume you two were her kidnappers?"

"Yeah, un. You two know each other?"

"We're only best friends!" I answered with a 'no-duh' tone. "I thought you said you knew everything you needed to know about me. That ought to include who I spend every Thursday and Sunday with."

Konachi smirked and said, "You said the same about me. Lying bastards."

I rolled my eyes and Konachi's provoking style of communication and said, "Well, I'm taking her to my room and we're gonna share kidnapping stories. So... yeah. Bye." I proceeded to grab Konachi's arm and pull her out of the room while she continued glaring at Deidara until the door closed.

"Why are you being so friendly? They freaking kidnapped us!" she vented at me.

"Um... I didn't fight... and the raven kinda saved my life. You know how my dad was trying to rebuild the garage without any professional help?"

"Yeah. And?"

"One of the support beams snapped. While I was leaning out holding onto it."

Konachi face-palmed. "Your dad... just wow."

"Yep. My mom was gonna get a family friend to come help out a couple days ago, but they're probably halting work on that now..." I said, starting to worry about what my family was going through to try and find me. I should have left a note, but he said I couldn't tell, but I could have fought back and left some kind of trace, but... I shook my head. Now was not the time to worry.

"So much for that. Our parents are gonna flipping out together. They could go to each other's houses and just start freaking out all sitting in the living room, and then our dads are gonna be like 'government men pwnage' and put out a bunch of radar and search and rescue and satellite cell phone trackers and everything and-"

"Wait, you didn't bring your cell phone with you, did you?" I asked, cutting Konachi off. She froze, a look of horror on her face.

"I FORGOT MY CELL-PHONE!" she wailed before pretending to hyperventilate. I started laughing, both in relief and at her antics. She continued to freak out until I shut the door to my room, and then we both fell on the floor laughing.

"You were texting me right before it happened! How did you forget?" I asked.

"I dropped it on the ground when I was trying to fight them off with my machete..." she said with a forlorn pout on her face. Then we both started laughing again.

After a few minutes, we calmed down and exchanged stories. We called each other idiots for the actions we'd taken, laughed at our kidnappers, and talked about how PO'd her dad would've been to find a hole in the concrete where Deidara had used his "art" in trying to capture Konachi. In the end, it was the puppet master who caught her, not the pyro. To her disappointment.

I laughed and shoved her shoulder good-naturedly. "Of course you'd wanna be kidnapped by a pyro."

She grinned and nodded. "I do love my fire. And loud, exploding things."

A few minutes later, Itachi and Deidara came in without knocking.

"I thought you were the polite one here," I told Itachi. Konachi glared at Deidara.

"Unfortunately, your friend here wasn't quite as cooperative as you were, so we've been keeping a close watch over her."

"Which is why I had to pull a pile of weapons off of her, right?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"What, un?"

"Yeah, girly-man. You left your charge in a room full of weapons with no safeguards on them. So much for responsibility," she sneered.

"T-that's not my fault, un! We had nowhere else to put you and all the weapons were hidden!" Deidara shouted, trying to save face in front of... probably Itachi, but he glanced down at Konachi for a second there... hm...

I decided not to say anything about my suspicions, but I would be watching now.

Anyways.

"She can stay in here with me. We did this all the time over the summer," I told them.

"We can't trust her not to leave," Itachi told me.

"And you can trust me?"

"..."

"She won't leave without me, and neither of us is stupid enough to leave. Also, as you've already established, you would just catch us again if we tried. Other than the fact that, you know, neither of us knows the way out."

"How do you know I can't find it?" Konachi asked, attempting to show off her directional skills, which are far better than mine, without even standing up. I rolled my eyes again.

Deidara stared at Konachi, seeming to analyze how much talent she had actually shown them before. I tried not to laugh, but then my good mood was shot down.

"Konachi can sleep in my room since its adjoined to Deidara's on one side. Sasori's bedroom is right across the hall, so there's no chance she'd be able to escape," Itachi said.

"How do you know I can't just sneak out while you guys are sleeping?" Konachi sneered, trying to get them to revert back to the originally suggested arrangements.

"Sasori doesn't sleep, so that's not possible," Itachi told her. I frowned.

"Where will you sleep then?"

"I don't sleep very much either, so I will sit in here at night."

"WHY?" I exclaimed, giving him a 'you've got to be kidding me' look.

"There is no room adjoining to this one, and now that your friend is here, your character seems to have changed, so I'll be watching you just as Deidara will be watching Konachi," he informed me. I groaned and fell backwards dramatically, and Konachi just gave the two men disbelieving looks.

"Why doth thou separate dear friends in this tragic fashion?" I asked dramatically, sitting back up.

"I KNOW RIGHT?" Konachi responded just as dramatically, in a stereotypical preppy teenager voice. "Its like, totally unfair to like, us two!"

I started laughing, and a couple seconds later Konachi joined me. Rolling his eyes, Deidara picked Konachi up off the ground and started to carry her off.

"PUT ME DOWN YOU GIRLY BASTARD!" she screamed at him, hitting his back and kicking his stomach. I winced, thinking about how much being hit by her hurt when she was just joking, but Deidara didn't seem to notice it.

Once the door had closed, I turned to look at Itachi, then tried to glare at him. He rolled his eyes as well and sat down.

"What exactly do you plan to do when you actually _do_sleep?" I asked him.

"I'll create a shadow clone to watch you while I rest," he responded. I cursed mentally. There went my excuse to get Konachi back...

We sat in silence for a little while, and then Itachi began to do something similar to meditating. I quietly stood up and walked out of the room and to the kitchen. I began rummaging through the drawers, looking for a pencil and some paper.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked from behind me. I yelped and turned around to see Itachi's dark figure standing across the room, watching me. After I recovered from the initial shock, I decided to be annoying.

"Estoy buscando para un lápiz y unas hojas de papeles."

He gave me an agitated look and said, "What does that mean?"

"Lo siento, pero no comprendo," I responded cheekily.

"Speak Japanese," Itachi ordered with a growl.

"Pero no me gusta tú," I said with a frown.

Itachi proceeded to throw me over his shoulder and start walking back to my bedroom.

"Put me down!" I yelled, trying to slide off his shoulder.

"Hn," he responded.

"NO GRUNT LANGUAGE!"

"Hn."

I sighed in resignation and recited our earlier conversation in Japanese.

"I'm looking for a pencil and some paper. _What does that mean?_ Sorry, but I don't understand. _Speak Japanese. _But I don't like you," I translated. "Now would you put me down?"

"No," he told me.

"Why?"

"Why did you speak in a different language?"

"Because you scared me so I decided to be annoying as payback!"

"Well, now I'm punishing you for annoying your guardian," he responded. I fell silent. Once we reached my room, he dropped me on the bed.

"You suck," I told him. He shrugged and sat down again. I lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling in silence. And so passed the rest of the day.


	6. Spiders and Ninjaness Fails

_**Hey guys! Guess who started writing on a whim last night? Me! Okay, so I need some feedback on this one. Is it too short? Not enough detail? Too much detail? Bad grammar? It was kind of late when I wrote this, and I think I've got a cold, so my head isn't quite as securely fastened to my body. Seriously guys, review, PM, flame, anything that I can pull either A) a compliment or B) some sort of critique out of would be absolutely amazing! And if you review, I might post the next chapter faster... I've already got a basic layout for the next couple chapters, so I'm not totally bluffing this time. :D**_

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><p>Konachi's POV<p>

After being carried through several hallways in a long, twisted route to a bedroom – which I'm sure wasn't the direct route, since Blondey wasn't going to show me that – I was dumped on a bed in an entirely too orderly room. Seriously, if it wasn't for the incredible lack of dust, I'd swear no one lived here.

"My room is just through that door, so don't try anything, and don't touch any of Itachi's stuff, or he'll kill you," Deidara told me. I smirked.

"How do you know I won't do something horrible to you in your sleep?" I questioned evilly.

Deidara glared. "If you do, _I'll_ kill you. And just so you know, we had orders to go easy on you before."

"Ha! Yeah right. That's why you blew a hole in my driveway, right? You were holding back?" I sneered. "I'll believe it when I see it, pretty-boy."

Deidara walked a little closer to me, placing his face less than a foot away from mine.

"Keep talking like that, and you _will_ see, little _weakling_."

I growled in extreme anger at his statement and lashed out at him, but he dodged and smirked cruelly at me.

"Sleep well… and don't let the spiders bother you too much," he said in a mock sweet tone before turning and walking into his bedroom. I shivered and wrapped my arms around my torso. They _had_ been watching me. I should have known to trust my instincts… especially since even Chi felt it. If Chi gets a premonition like this, it's something serious. I'm the only one that I know of who can sense the minor ones. I _knew_ we shouldn't have blown it off as paranoia…

All failures of judgment aside, I was stuck with a fire-loving blonde and a red-headed puppeteer until further notice. As I started to ponder the possibilities of having a room connected to a pyromaniac, my thoughts drifted to more positive things – fireworks, mortars, explosions, fire… heh, maybe staying here won't be so bad after all. I smiled and fell soundly asleep for the first time in three months, dreaming of blowing things up and shooting off mortars and anything else fire related. Sweet bliss~

Chimoku's POV

After my day of staring up at the ceiling, my imagination going places no imagination has gone before… well, someone's probably been there before. That's not the point though. So, after a day of starting up at the ceiling, my imagination going places no imagination has gone before, I slowly curled up in a ball, the blankets cocooning around me, and drifted off into sleep.

When I woke up a few hours later, I realized that I had neglected to eat dinner with everyone, meaning Itachi hadn't eaten either, and since he's a guy, he's probably even hungrier than I am. After glancing over to make sure he was asleep – which, miraculously, he was – I unwrapped myself from the blankets and silently tiptoed out of my room, closing the door softly behind me. My feet padded down the hallways, and luckily, I was able to find my way to the kitchen again. I had the route fairly well memorized.

Now, what to make? It can't be loud or take a long time or put off a strong smell, because that would wake people up. I tapped my chin thoughtfully before deciding to make my mom's special sandwiches. I found all the necessary ingredients and heated a skillet, and about ten minutes later, I had two meals of a sandwich, a bag of chips, a glass of water, and best of all, a chocolate chip cookie in my hands. I'd have to make sure Konachi was eating properly too… if not, I'd have to start making three meals instead of two, along with getting Itachi to either show me where her room – well, actually, his room – is or take the food to her for me.

I balanced the plates and water glasses in my arms and slowly walked back to my bedroom, leaning back and silently opening the door with my foot – thank goodness for dance classes – and setting the food on the small table in the room. Then, glancing back over at Itachi to see that he was still asleep, I had a silent celebration of my victory. I had made it all the way to the kitchen, cooked food, and come all the way back _without_ waking Itachi up! This was _huge_!

I was doing a silent little cheer thing when a voice interrupted my celebrations.

"What are you doing?"

I spun around to see Itachi sitting in his chair, staring at me. I coughed awkwardly.

"Um, nothing…"

Itachi gave me a look. I sighed, before smiling hugely, deciding to ride on the high of my accomplishment.

"I made it all the way to the kitchen and back without waking anyone, including you, up! And I made awesome food!" I said, posing proudly.

"Not quite," Itachi's voice said as another Itachi walked in from the door. My jaw dropped as I looked back and forth between Itachi one and Itachi two.

"Wha…?"

"I followed you to the kitchen but saw no harm in your actions, so I didn't interrupt you," Itachi two, who was still standing by the door, said. I frowned in confusion, and then pouted.

"I thought I did so well too…"

"Why did you make food in the first place?" Itachi one asked me, looking down at the meals from his sitting position.

"Because it's two in the morning and we missed dinner… and lunch for that matter. Are you not hungry?" I asked, worried I had gone to all that trouble for nothing.

Itachi number two disappeared and Itachi number one got out of his chair and sat on the floor at the table with me.

"The food is very nice, Chimoku." He looked at the sandwich oddly. "What is this?"

I grinned. "It's my mom's special recipe… it tastes a little different every time we make it, but it's always good."

Itachi nodded before awkwardly picking the sandwich up and beginning to eat it. I rolled my eyes, and Itachi gave me a questioning look.

I sighed and said, "Dude, you can't eat a sandwich like that. It's not supposed to be a delicate food. Actually grab it. I brought napkins to wipe off your hands, so don't be so proper. Seriously, loosen up."

Itachi smiled and continued eating his sandwich, but he never opened his chips or touched his cookie. Instead, he just watched me eat. I put my food down and stared at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Eat it," I ordered, gesturing towards his chips and cookie. He shook his head.

"I don't need all of it, Chimoku," he responded smoothly.

"I don't care," I returned. "You will not move from this table until you have consumed every bit of food I brought you."

"And how do you expect to keep me here?"

"It's only fair."

Itachi shot me a questioning look.

"You made me eat the toast thing a couple days ago, so now you have to eat your midnight meal," I told him. A small smile snuck onto Itachi's face again and he finished all of his food. I collected the dishes into one pile, looked at the door, and decided I didn't want to make another trip to the kitchen right now. So instead, I just pulled the table out of the way, along with all the dishes, and sat down in my bed again. Itachi sat next to me, and I leaned my head on his shoulder, trying not to fall asleep. He played with my hair – the same way my mom did all the time when I was little – until blackness took me, once again, from the conscious world, into an extraordinary land of adventures and heroics and, strangely enough, Konachi, playing with fire.


End file.
